


Lover is a Day

by caffeineguzzler



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, a series of unfortunate bad luck events, lucky number 13 au, shiro is full of bad luck but it transfers to his partner, some injuries here and there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-21 03:44:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15548877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caffeineguzzler/pseuds/caffeineguzzler
Summary: Keith learns that being with Shiro means dodging bullets everyday.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved Lucky Number 13 by Yamamoto Kotetsuko and I've wanted to make an AU of it so here it is haha

“Shiro, I’m sorry, I just can’t do this anymore.”

Keith looked up above the cash register he was manning, eyebrows raised in curiosity. He slyly glanced at the two men seated at a corner table, as if that area had granted them some sort of privacy. One had brown hair, head defeatedly dipped between his shoulders, one hand resting on his opposing arm, suspended in a sling. The other man, the one with the black hair, bit his lip, thick eyebrows furrowed, eyes downcast.

He closed his eyes and nodded, quietly accepted it. “I understand.”

“I’m sorry, I’m… I’m just afraid,” the other one continued. “I don’t want to die. I didn’t think… it would be like _this._ ”

The black-haired one nodded again. The side of his mouth pulled in disappointment. Keith felt bad for the two of them. But. Dying?

“I know, Adam,” breathed the black haired guy. “I wish it wasn’t like this. I really like you too.” He avoided Adam’s gaze. “Thank you.”

_Was one of them dying?_

“Be safe, Shiro.” And with that, Adam hobbled onto one leg, grabbed a crutch with his good arm and slowly made his way out of the cafe, the other arm pressed safely into him.

Keith worked in a cafe. He’s seen many break-ups, make-ups, and hook-ups occur in the little shop, but somehow this one felt different. Perhaps there was something in the air, but whatever it was, it pulled him toward the downcast boy in the corner table, still staring at the table, unmoving.

Keith glanced at the exit when the bell at the door rang, signaling that Adam had finally made it out of the shop. As if on cue, someone yelped and the sound of breaking glass cut through the air. It was at the corner table.

“I’m so sorry, oh my god! Are you okay?” A girl frantically looking back and forth between the floor, the glass, and Shiro stood in front of the table, blocking Keith’s view.

“Ah, I’m okay, I’m okay,” he heard Shiro reply. “Are you alright?”

Another day, another broken glass. Keith grabbed a rag and the broom and began to make his way to the table.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened-- I must have tripped or something,” the girl continued, her face turning red in panic. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

As he turned the corner of the counter, he saw Shiro had stood up, attempting to pat his pants with some tissue. His pants were stained dark brown with some streaks of red on his left leg.

“I should be fine, it’ll be alright,” he replied. “It’s only a bit hot.” He tried a sorry attempt at a chuckle, but it somehow only darkened the mood of the entire shop.

“Hey, uh,” Keith started as he approached them, keeping his gaze on the floor. “Let me go ahead and sweep this up for you guys.” The girl nodded and whispered an apology and left to go sit back down at another table, burying her face in her hands.

“Thank you,” replies Shiro as he continued to pat himself off of the coffee. It could’ve been a trick playing Keith’s eyes, but he swore he could still see the drink steaming off of his clothes. Keith nodded in reply and made quick work of sweeping up the broken shards.

Shiro sat back down onto his seat, but Keith could feel him staring at his back.

“You didn’t happen to have heard any of that, did you?” He half chuckled, half choked out. Keith glanced at him. “With uh, the injured guy. Or my ex, I guess.”

Ah shit, Keith thought. So Shiro was the kind of guy to get into a conversation with employees. He didn’t know what to say, he felt as if he were caught in a crime. He shrugged noncommittally, paused, thought better of it, and then nodded slowly. “Yeah. Sorry about that man. Rough.”

“I’m not, like, a murderer of anything,” Shiro looked into his eyes. He scoffed. “I just have bad luck.”

It was Keith’s turn to scoff.

“Can’t be that bad, though, right?”

Shiro shrugged in reply. Keith threw the rag on the floor to soak up the remaining liquid.

“Depends on how you feel about living.”

“Uh.” A shiver ran down Keith’s spine.

Shiro hissed sharply. “Damn, I think I got some glass in my leg.” Keith inwardly cringed.

“If you want, we have some first aid stuff in the back. I can see what I can do?”

A soft, slightly sad, crooked smile blessed Shiro’s features and suddenly it seemed like he was glowing, as if flower petals were cascading through a cool breeze, and the icy block inside of Keith’s chest had melted into something alive and beating. Shiro smiled downwards and nodded. “That’d be great actually.”

And so they were in the break room with Shiro’s leg propped up on a chair and Keith sat hunched over next to him with a first aid kit on his lap. A coworker had agreed to man the register in Keith’s absence, but not before he could size Shiro up and down and lick his lips tellingly. Keith’s eyes couldn’t roll any harder.

“These pants are pretty much ruined,” Shiro dejectedly noted, holding a pair of scissors to the fabric. “I’d rather just get new ones and get the glass out.”

Keith nodded and watched the scissors cut through the wet fabric like butter. The skin underneath was red, very red, a first degree burn at the very least. The drink had been hot. Shiro was correct, there were little shards sticking out of his thigh.

“We, um, here,” Keith mumbled, searching through the kit and pulling out some tweezers and handing them to Shiro. “This should help.”

Shiro looked at it and back at Keith and cleared his throat. “Would you, uh, be able to do me a favor here?”

Keith met his eyes. They were apologetic, but sincere. Shiro scratched the back of his head. “Would you be able to pull them out for me? It’s a little too much for me to do by myself right now.”

“What? Are you serious?” Keith replied.

“I know, I know, but I really can’t do this on my own.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Keith conceded, his shoulders dropping. “Okay, fine.”

“Thanks, man, I really owe you one.”

It was the randomest thing Keith had ever done for a stranger. He was thankful for his agile fingers for being able to quickly pull out the shards. Shiro hissed every time he swiped an alcohol pad on top of it and placed a bandaid on each of the cuts. After doing a last survey, Keith had decided that the leg was free of glass.

Shiro nodded and stood up, looking stupid with his half torn jeans revealing a band-aid ridden thigh and wonderfully tight fitting black shirt. Keith followed suit and stood up as well.

“I’m all fixed up! Thank you Doctor…?” Shiro trailed off.

“...Keith.”

“Doctor Keith. My name's Shiro. This is more than I could have asked from anyone. Really, thank you.”

Keith’s heart dropped just a little bit. He didn’t even do much. “It’s no problem, man. I’m sorry you’re having a shitty day.”

“Shitty day,” Shiro repeated thoughtfully.

A beat of silence. They looked at each other.

Keith noticed Shiro had dark brown eyes, framed with thick black eyelashes. His hair was black and shaggy, but in a purposeful, stylish way that highlighted the best parts of his face-- not that there was a part of his face that was less than satisfactory.

There it was.

A tug. Something that just felt right. A gravitational pull.

Shiro cleared his throat and bashfully scratched the back of his neck.

“I should get going.”

Keith nodded.

“I really owe you one. Thank you.”

Keith nodded.

“Uh, alright. Guess I’ll just go this way then.”

Shiro slowly nodded at him and began to walk. Why did Keith feel like he was frozen in place? Why was his heart beating out of his chest? Most of all, why didn’t he feel the words coming out of his mouth?”

“You can make it up to me with dinner?”

Shiro’s stopped in his tracks and turned around, eyes wide. Keith finally crash landed back into his body, horrified. This guy literally just broke up with his boyfriend less than an hour ago.

“I mean- If you want to hang out, this wasn’t a great way to meet or--”

“That… That sounds fine with me.” Shiro fished out a tiny pen from his pocket and wrote his number on Keith’s palm. Keith gaped at the number.

“I-- okay? Okay. Alright,” Keith stammered. “We’ll hang out then. I’ll text you?”

“Okay,” Shiro smiled at him. “It’s a date.”

And then he was gone.

“A date,” Keith whispered as he looked at the phone number on his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Uneasiness was the word for it. Ever since he input Shiro’s number into his phone, Keith couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness off of his shoulders. It felt as if something were watching him, waiting for him, always there.

They texted back and forth for two weeks, trying to figure out a location and date to see each other, to get to know the one another. Keith learned that Shiro was studying to become a paramedic, as he wanted to always be prepared for any emergency, which made Keith’s stomach slightly lurch. He learned that he was two years older than himself, which was a strange relief.

Although he felt the constant looming of uneasiness, Keith couldn’t forget the way Shiro looked so… warm and gentle. He daydreamed at work, spacing out as he cleaned tables and made drinks. He thought about that way his palm would fit against Shiro’s cheek, about his wide set shoulders and if his arms would fit around him, if Shiro was as gentle in bed as he looked or if he was secretly rougher. Would he be quiet, panting under his breath, or would he be loud, grunting, moaning, and taking what he wants?

Keith sighed and continued to wipe down the counters.  _ Would Shiro bend him down?  _ The thoughts intruded his mind.  _ Would Shiro let Keith bend him down over the counter?  _ As if to snap him out of his reverie, his phone vibrated in his back pocket.

He pulled it out and a smile pulled at his face when he saw it was Shiro who had messaged him, as if he had known Keith was thinking about him. 

_ How’s this Saturday evening work out for you? Are you free? _

Keith immediately texted back, excited that their schedules had finally aligned.

_ That’s perfect.  _

They settled on watching a dinner and movie, a typical date setting, in which both of them had made fun of, but decided on doing it anyway. Keith felt like a teenager, smiling to himself as he drove his motorcycle at the theater. It had been a while since he had attempted to date anyone and he was giddy with the prospect making this handsome paramedic his boyfriend.

He tried his best to make himself look presentable, but Keith had never been a fashion icon. He settled on simple white crewneck shirt and black jeans, topped with a red, black, and white windbreaker. It was a simple, foolproof outfit that he hoped would charm Shiro.

The two had settled on meeting up around 6, but Keith wanted to make sure to make a good impression and left early to ensure that he wouldn’t be late. However, when he arrived, he found Shiro standing, leaning on a wall fiddling with his phone, looking absolutely sophisticated. He looked sleek, his jawline absolutely refined. He work a black turtleneck with a casual suit jacket and black pants. 

Keith bit his lip, feeling slightly underdressed, but took out his phone and texted Shiro.

_ Hey, I’m here now _

He watched Shiro lift his head up from his phone to scan the area. Keith waved at him in the air and Shiro’s gaze finally landed on him. Oh, the way his face lit up. He got off the wall and shoved his phone in his front pocket and began to walk toward Keith. Keith made his way toward him as well and met him halfway.

“Early huh?” Keith joked.

Shiro’s smiled and blushed. How could someone taller, bulkier, and just more….  _ manly  _ just feel so gentle? All Keith wanted to do was embrace him and tell him that he would protect him, even though realistically, Shiro would probably do a better job of protecting himself anyway.

“I was excited,” Shiro replied, looking at him earnestly. “I’m happy to see you again.”

He was just so  _ genuine. _

“I’m happy to see you too,” Keith replied, touching his shoulder. Damn, that was a solid shoulder.

“I got the tickets already, do you want to go inside?” 

Keith nodded and they made their way into the movie theater. Shiro slid his hand onto Keith’s back and all feelings of nervousness or the looming doom and gloom immediately left. It was as if Shiro was the cure. 

The two made their way to the snack bar and stared at the menu overhead, figuring out what they wanted to get. 

“I mean, we have to get popcorn, right?” Keith mused.

“Mhm,” Shiro nodded, his hands poised on his chin, contemplating which tasty snack he wanted to buy. 

“Alright,” replied Keith, stepping up to the counter. 

“Hi, what can I get for you?” the employee behind the counter asked. 

“I’ll get th--” 

A loud snapping and crackling noise interrupted him. 

“Keith!”

He looked up at where the snapping sound came from and jumped to the side as he saw one of the overhead lights at the ceiling of the theater lobby came crashing down right to where he was previously standing.

The cashier screamed and the surrounding patrons gasped and stared at the site.

Holy shit. Holy shit. _ Holy shit. _

“Holy shit,” Keith gaped at the broken light. It was huge, broken, and had electricity crackling inside of it.

Shiro rushed up to him, his arms protectively wrapping around his shoulders. 

“Are you okay? Fuck,” Shiro examined his head and face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Keith felt the blood drain from his face, his breath was taken out of his lungs. “I-I’m fine, that was just. Crazy. It’s not your fault.”

“Are you two okay?” a man in a suit ran up to them, visibly frazzled. “This has never happened before, oh my god.”

“We’re fine, just a little shaken,” Keith replies. He looks at Shiro, who is burning holes into the ground. He places his hand on Shiro’s back, gently patting it as if to say,  _ it’s okay, buddy _ .

“Alright, well here, we’ll give you some free tickets and comp your food for tonight. We’re so sorry about this.” The man went to the counter and spoke with the shocked cashier, who nodded frantically and rang up the register.

“Well that’s, like, lucky right?” Keith attempted to lighten the mood. Shiro looked at him confusedly. “We get free food and free tickets? Maybe when we come back next time the lights won’t fall on me again, haha.”

A relieved sigh escaped Shiro’s lips. He chuckled. “I swear my hair is going to go grey like this.”

Maybe Keith wanted to make a joke about growing old together, but maybe it wasn’t quite the time yet. Not on the first date at least, but it felt as if they had known each other for long before that. Especially after he almost…  _ died. _

“Let’s get our food,” replied Shiro, ushering them to the cashier who had been waiting for them.

They bought the largest size of popcorn, a drink to share, and some nachos to munch on. Keith led the way into the theater and scanned the seats. There was a considerable amount of people inside, but there were a good amount of seats to choose from. 

“I like the middle of the theater if that’s okay with you?” Shiro offered. 

Keith momentarily mulled this over, and decided to push a little bit. 

“How about the back?”

Shiro’s eyebrows raised. He leaned into Keith’s ear from behind and lowly whispered, “Are we going to make out?” 

It surprised Keith to hear someone actually say it out loud and burst out into laughter. “I guess that’s up to you, huh?” Shiro smiled at him.

They took the middle seats furthest in the back. Shiro settled in his and when Keith attempted to sit in his, the chair completely folded and his ass fell through.

“Shit!” Keith exclaimed, glad to be holding the popcorn securely and not the drink.

“Keith!” Shiro grabbed the popcorn bucket, settled it on the other side and grabbed Keith’s arm to help pull him out.

“Jesus,” breathed Keith, brushing of his lap of the stray pieces of popcorn. “This is crazy right?”

“Uh,” Shiro dumbly replied.

“It’s okay, I’ll just sit on your other side.” Keith made sure to check the chair to ensure that he wouldn’t fall through it again. He settled in and placed the popcorn on his lap and popped one in his mouth. He glanced at Shiro, who was worriedly looking at him. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine, see?” 

Shiro nodded solemnly and took a piece of popcorn for himself. 

“So you work at the cafe huh?” Shiro asked as they waited for the previews to begin.

Keith hummed. “It’s one of the jobs I have.” He kept his eyes straight ahead of him. It wasn’t like he was ashamed of it, but he didn’t want Shiro to pity him either. 

“Oh, I see! Are you saving up for school?” Shiro asked. Keith smiled tiredly at him. “Oh, I didn’t mean to assume, I just--”

“It’s okay,” replied Keith, resting his elbow on the armrest in between them and places his chin on his palm. “I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do, but I know I don’t have a chance to get in anywhere right now.”

“I see,” Shiro nodded solemnly. “You're still young and you've got a lot of time to figure it out.”

Keith snorted. “Don’t make it sound like you're so old.”

Shiro softly flicked his nose and smiled. “Older than you.”

Seeing him be playful made Keith’s heart take flight. Shiro was perfect and it wasn’t right. How could Adam have tossed him away like that? How could Shiro seem to be so insecure and sometimes even defeated? 

Shiro shifted his body to look face the projected screen. Keith continued to look at him and Shiro offered a lopsided smile. He pointed at the screen. “Previews are starting.” 

Loud music started from the speakers around the room, the lights darkened and the screen lit up. Keith tore his eyes away from the sight beside him and faced toward the screen, popcorn placed securely on his lap.

Despite the interesting trailers that Keith might have been interested in watching any other time, he was more conscious of the man next to him. He purposefully left his arm on the armrest, hoping that Shiro would take the opportunity to hold it.

A quick glance to his side proved that Shiro was too busy munching on his nachos. Keith scrunched his nose in slight disappointment, but figured that he had the whole rest of the movie.

Shiro offered Keith some of the chips, but he respectfully declined. Shiro nodded and finished off the chips, for which Keith was glad for. The movie was entertaining, action packed and emotional, however, Keith was more preoccupied with Shiro’s presence. The empty tray was placed on the floor beneath them and finally, Keith felt a warm hand envelop his own.

He glanced at Shiro next to him and locked eyes. Shiro was smiling warmly at him, which took Keith aback. A smile tugged at his own lips and Shiro repositioned their hands to be intertwined. Keith’s heart was soaring.

They didn’t make out during the movie, but Keith wasn’t disappointed. Once the movie had ended their hands continued to stay locked together. Shiros’ palm was warm and reassuring, large and welcoming. Keith thought about the other places his hand could make good use for, but stowed those thoughts away in favor of not having a boner in the middle of dinner. 

“Paramedic, huh?” asked Keith as they waited for the dinner they ordered to arrive. “Sounds like hard work.”

Shiro hummed thoughtfully as he took a sip out of his cup of water. “It is, but it’s worth it. The training has come in handy on multiple occasions already. That sounds kind of grim though, huh?”

Keith stared at him. “Is that a thing with you?” 

Shiro’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sorry?”

“Like, this whole, bad things just happen around you thing.”

“I--” Shiro cut himself off. His eyebrows furrowed in thought, he almost looked guilty and pained. “It’s a long story.”

“A long story?”

“Kind of. Look, I don’t want to scare you off. It’s--”

“What do you--” Keith was cut off by the waitress who cleared her throat to announce her arrival with their food. 

She placed the food down on the table and left after letting them know to let her know if they needed anything else. They both nodded. 

Keith looked down at his food, suddenly unappetised by the way the conversation had turned. The sushi on his plate looked delicious, but his stomach churned at what Shiro said. He couldn’t find it himself to be afraid of Shiro himself, it was as if there were a different presence around Shiro that made the uneasiness that sat inside of him grow stronger.

He took a harder look at Shiro, trying to figure out what it was. He was soft spoken, walked confidently, super fit, took care of himself well, and showed no warning signs other than the slightly foreboding things he would sometimes say. H picked up his pair of chopsticks and placed it around a piece of sushi.

“If you don’t want to scare me off, maybe stop being so cryptic,” Keith blurted out. This is why he didn’t have a lot of friends and being too straightforward was something he tried to work on. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a lot of people he could practice with. The date was going so well too. 

Except Shiro looked at him and genuinely laughed quietly. 

“Well, no one’s ever told me that before,” he chuckled, covering his mouth as he spoke. He put his palm face up on the side of the table and Keith gently placed his on top. Shiro rubbed a tiny circle on top of Keith’s hand with his palm. “It’s just,” he sighed and glanced sideways. “This is something that’s always happened without an explanation.”

Keith cocked his head sideways, signaling to Shiro that he was listening and intrigued. “Okay…”

“You almost died today.”

“I don’t think--”

“You did.”

Keith kept his mouth shut. If he really thought about it, the light was smashed to bits and pieces on the floor. Had it landed on his head, well, then he would have been bits and pieces.

“I guess it’s better to let you know now before we get too far with this. With us.” 

“I really like you, Shiro,” Keith said lowly. “I really want to make this work.”

“I know,” Shiro replied, nodding his head slowly. “Me too, but you need to know this. I have really, really bad luck.”

“Okay, we all have rough patches sometimes, yeah--”

“No, you don’t understand. It’s a fact, Keith, I just have bad luck. And when I’m with… someone…. I  _ am  _ bad luck. It’s like a curse that transfers over when I’m in a relationship with someone.”

Somehow Keith understood what he was trying to say, but he felt ridiculous trying to believe it. He swallowed. The sushi was still in between his chopsticks, laying on the plate untouched. Suddenly, the image of him throwing up over a toilet bowl two to four hours after him eating this piece of sushi conjured up in his head. Or perhaps there would be an unfortunate fish bone left in. Or that he would be sick in the hospital tomorrow. He placed his chopsticks down and reconsidered maybe just not eating it. 

Shiro watched him, waiting for a reaction. Keith didn’t know how to react to something like that coming from someone who seemed so sane. 

“Are you being serious with me right now?” Keith asked, trying his best not to be condescending in the way he accidentally does sometimes. 

“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but… you saw how it was when we first met. My ex.”

Keith audibly gulped. The guy had a broken arm and a broken leg. Who knows what else he had broken, but the guy looked a wreck. He said he didn’t want to  _ die. _

But somehow, Keith felt as if it would be okay. As if he needed to protect Shiro. He had gone through hardships in his life before, more than some people might ever know, and as far as he knows, Shiro didn’t deserve any of it. Keith wasn’t rich, he didn’t have a lot of money, he wasn’t the cutest guy on the market, but that was okay. If what Shiro was saying was true, he was sure it wasn’t anything more than he could handle.

“I remember him.” Keith nodded and slowly took his hand back. Shiro’s eyes shot down to his hand and he pulled back as well, placing his hands on his lap and Keith immediately felt guilty at the disappointed look on Shiro’s face. “But I bet you I’m tougher than he is.”

“What?” Shiro looked at him in a different kind of surprise, his eyes seemed to twinkle.

“I can take it,” Keith assured him. “If you’ll have me.”

Shiro blushed. Keith felt like a corny asshole, but the connection he felt between them felt like something so  _ real _ . Not to mention, it had been long time since Keith had felt anything close to what he felt for the handsome man before him and he had forgotten how amazing it felt to feel so in sync with someone else. 

“Okay,” Shiro replied, smiling at him.

“Okay,” Keith replied, picking up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and popped it in his mouth.


End file.
